Seal construction



M y c. A. OHL

I SEAL CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 16, 1942 Clyde ALO/Zl.

Patented May 1 1945 SEAL CONSTRUCTION Clyde A. Oh], Elyrla, Ohio, assignor to Bendix- Westinghouse Automotive Air Brake Company, Elyria, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application December 16, 1942, Serial No. 469,243

3 Claims. (Cl. 286-26) This invention relates to sealing devices and more particularly to an arrangement for excluding the entrance of dirt, moisture and other foreign substances from the opening between a shaft and a supporting member.

There has been a long need in the art for inexpensive means of simple design and construc-' tion for effectively sealing the opening between a pair of members, such as a shaft and a supporting member therefor, to exclude the entrance of dirt, moisture and other foreign substances from such openings. Means of the foregoing character has extensive use in connection with fluid pressure actuating devices which are usually necessarily mounted in such locations as to be subject to the action of dirt, moisture and other foreign substances.

The principal object of the presentinvention is to provide the aforementioned means.

Another object is to provide novel means for preventing the entrance of dirt, moisture and other foreign substances into the opening between a shaft and a supporting member therefor, with the means so designed as to contact a small length of the shaft.

Another object is to provide a device, for sealing the opening between a shaft mounted for relative movement within a supporting member. of novel design and construction whereby the device contacts the shaft with a wiping action upon relative movement of the latter.

Still another object is to provide a sealing de- Fig. 2 is an end view of the sealing device shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sealing device shown in Fig. 1.

With reference more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawing, a sealing device constructed in ac cordance with-the principles of the present invention is disclosed therein in connection with a fluid pressure actuating device of the type emplayed for operating. vehicle brake and clutch .mechanisms. ,As shown, the fluid pressure actuating device comprises a hollow cylindrical casin member ID having one end thereof closed by wall H while the other end is terminated in an inwardly extending circumferential lip l2. "A piston l3 isslidably positioned within the hollow casing member ID to divide the interior thereof into chambers l4 and I5. One end of an actuatin shaft I6 is secured to the back face of the piston l3,wl1ile the other end'thereof extends outwardly beyond th inwardly extending circumferential lip l2. The extending end of the actuating shaft I6 is connected to a mechanism. not shown. that the fluid pressure actuating device is adapted to vice having the foregoing characteristics including novel features for allowing the passage of air through the device while maintaining the sealing features.

Other objects and novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates one embodiment of the invention. Itis to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is utilized for the purpose of illustration only and is not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention,.reference being had for this purpose. to the appended claims.

In the drawing. 4 wherein similar reference charactersajenote similar elements throughout the several views:

flu-id pressure is applied to the chamber Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic showing. partly in section, of a fluid p essure actuating device including a sealing evice "embodying the principles of the present invention;

operate. A cylindrical member l'l, having an opening I! therein through which theactuatin shaft l6 extends, is secured to the periphery of the inwardly extending lip l2 by any suitable means. A coil spring I! is positioned within the chamber M, with the opposite ends thereof contacting the inwardlyextendlng circumferential lip l2 and the back face of the piston .l3, in order to normally urge the piston l3 to the left end of the casing member ID, as viewedin the-drawing. The chamher It is connected to a source of fluid pressure through a conduit III that terminates in communication with the chamber l5.

When it is desired tooperate the mechanism to which the terminating end of the actuating shaft I6 is connected, such as the brake or clutch mechanisms of a road vehicle for example, a source of It through the conduit III. As the pressure of fluid supplied to the chamber l5 exerts a sumcient force on the front face of the piston l8 to overcome the tension of the spring IS, the piston I3 and the actuating shaft l6 are moved to the right as viewed in the drawing. The extent of the foregoing movement of the-actuating shaft It depends upon the forces opposing such movement of the actuating shaft and the force applied to the face of the piston 13 due to the tuna pressure applied to the chamber I. By regulating the pressure apthus retard movement of the piston |3 against the tension of the spring I9. In view of the foregoing, the opening l8 in the member I is of a larger diameter than the diameter of the actuating shaft IS in order to allow air to freely pass therethrough upon movement of the'piston l3.

Such larger diameter also permits a certain amount of lateral movement of shaft l6.

As previously mentioned, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel means for effectively sealing the opening between the contacting surfaces, or the closely related surfaces, of a pair of members, such as a shaft and a supporting member therefor. Sealing means of the foregoing character has numerous applications, for example, for sealing the opening between the actuating shaft and the body portion of a fluid pressure actuating device, such as the type previously described and illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. As aforesaid, with reference again to Fig. 1, it is necessary to provide the opening l8 of a diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the actuating shaft Hi to allow air to freely pass through from the chamber l4 upon movement of the piston I3. Moreover, as stated heretofore, the fluid pressure actuating devices of the foregoing type are usually installed in positionswherein the devices are subjected to dust, dirt, moisture and other foreign substances. It therefore becomes necessary to provide suitable sealing means for the opening between the actuating shaft l6 and the support I! in order to exclude of the actuating shaft IS in such a manner that dirt, moisture and other foreign substances are excluded from the chamber l4, while air is al-- lowed to pass freely therethrough, to and from the chamber H. t

In order to secure the sealing member 2| to the cylindrical member I! in such a manner to accomplish the foregoing, the face of cylindrical member I! is terminated beyond the inwardly extending circumferential lip l2, in a plane at substantially right angles to the longitudinal axis of the actuating shaft I6, while a circumferential boss 22 is formed on the periphery of the extending portion adjacent the terminating face thereof. The sealing member 2| is placed on the terminating face of the cylindrical member I! and is deflected or otherwise formed over the circumferential boss 22 into and around the outer periphery of the cylindrical member H, for a certain distance behind the boss 22, as shown at 23. A metallic wire 24, or any other suitable clamping means, is positioned over the sealing member 2|, directly behind the circumferential boss 22, to rigidly clamp the member 2| to the terminating face of the cylindrical member I! in a manner shown.

For a purpose that will become apparent hereinafter, the sealing member 2| is securedto the cylindrical member I! in such a manner to maintain the sealing member 2| under a substantial stress. The foregoing is accomplished from the method of clamping the,sealing member 2| to the cylindrical member When the outer portions of the sealing member 2| are formed over the circumferential boss 22 and positively clamped to the outer periphery of the cylindrical member H, at 23, the sealing member 2| is necessarily stretched from the normal state thereof thus produe-ing the aforementioned pre-stressing.

The sealing member 2| has a pair of diagonal slits 25 and 26 cut therein, with the mid-points of each of the slits crossing at a substantially common point 21. The diagonal slits 25 and 26 form a plurality of slittedmembers, or flexible tongues 28. each of which extends inwardly toward the point 21 from a substantially circular path equally distant from the point 21. The length of each of the diagonal slits is equal to the diameter of the actuating shaft l6 so that the shaft may be readily inserted through the slitted portion of the sealing member 2|. The sealing member 2| may be inserted over the actuating shaft .|6 before the member 2| is secured to the cylindrical member I], or the actuating shaft may be inserted through the slitted portion of the member 2| after the latter is rigidly secured to the cylindrical member depending upon which mode of assembly may be more conveniently accomplished. In either event, the sealing member 2| is secured to the cylindrical member I in such a manner that the mid-points 21 of the diagonal slits 25 and 26 substantially coincide with the axial center of the actuating shaft Hi.

When the actuating shaft I6 is inserted through the slitted portion of the sealing member 2| the flexible tongues 28 are deflected outwardly to allow the shaft IE to pass through the slitted portion of the sealing member 2| as shown in Fig. 1. Since the sealing member 2| is secured to they cylindrical member H in such a manner that the midpoints 21 of the diagonal slits 25 and 26' substantially coincide with the center of the actuating shaft I 6, the tongues 28 have equal areas of contact with the surface of the actuating shaft l6. Furthermore, since the length .of each of the diagonal slits 25 and 26 is equal to the diameter of the actuating shaft l6, the entire circumference of the actuating shaft l8 isin contact with some portion of the sealing member 2 I.

As previously mentioned, the sealing member 2| is secured to the cylindrical member 1 in such a manner that the sealing member 2| is maintained under a substantial stress. With such prestressing of the sealing member 2|, the tongues 28 are urged to occupy the normal positions-thereof, that is, positions in a plane with the substantially larger portion of the sealing member 2| that is parallel to the terminating face of the cylindrical portion H, with a substantially greater force with respect to the force urging the tongues 28 to occupy the aforementioned normal positions thereof when the sealing member 2| is not under a substantial stress. With the foregoing arrangement, a substantial force maintains the tongues 28 in continuous contact with the surface of the actuating shaft It. The latter feature not only provides an efficient seal between the actuating shaft I8 and the cylindrical member H, but also greatly prolongs the effective life of such a sealing device.

Since thesealing member 2| is constructed of leather, or of any other material having suitable flexible and absorbing characteristics, the entrance of moisture, such as water, to the chamber contact the surface of the actuating shaft IS with a wiping action. The wiping action of the tongues 28 continuallymaintains a large surface of the actuating shaft [6 free from moisture, thus preventing substantial quantities of moisture'from gathering adjacent the contacting surfaces between the tongues 28 and the actuating shaft l6, which would eventually flow past the. sealing member 2| into the chamber 14.

The present invention thus provides a novel device, of simple design and construction that may be manufactured at relatively low costs, for effectively sealing the opening between the contacting surfaces, or the closely related surfaces, of a'pair of members, such as a shaft and a supporting member therefor. A sealing device constructed in-accordance with the principles disclosed herein not only excludes the entrance of dirt and other foreign substances to the opening between a shaft and a support therefor, but also excludes the entrance of moisture, such as water for example, and is further characterized to allow air to pass therethrough. Moreover, the sealing device provided by the present invention includes novel features for maintaining a substantially long, emcient life of the sealing device, and furthermore, the sealing deviceis designed in such a manner that thesamecontacts a substantially small longitudinal length 01' the shaft to be sealed thus eliminating the necessity of increasing the length of the shaft for sealing purposes as is the case in certain sealing devices provided by the prior art.

Although only one embodimentof the invention has been described and illustrated herein it is to be expressly understood that various changes and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as well understood by those skilled in the art. For example, any number of diagonal slits may be cut in the sealing member while the lengths of the slits mayvary in order to provide a slitted opening in the sealing member that substantially conforms with shafts having cross-sections other.

than circular. Reference therefore will be had to the appended claims as a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a supporting member, a shaft protruding from said supporting member, and means sealing the opening between the adjacent surfaces of said supporting member'and said shaft, said means including a substantially thin member of flexible material having a flat circular face, a plurality of diagonal slits in said face with the mid-points of said slits passing through a substantially common point, said flexible member being inserted over said shaft, and means securing said flexible member to said supporting member with said common point in substantial coincidence with the center of said shaft.

2. A seal for a reciprocating shaftcomprising a cup-shaped member of leather having a fiat, circular face provided with a plurality of intersecting slits intersecting at the center of said face. i

3. A seal for a shaft comprising a cup-shaped member of leather having a flat, circular face 40 provided with a plurality of slits of equal length,

said slits intersecting each other at the center of said face.

CLYDE A. OHL. 

